Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington

Mother's Remains

My mother was recently cremated. There was no will. The entire family met with the funeral director and all agreed the majority of our mother's ashes would be kept at home, and one small urn would be shipped to a sibling. The day following the meeting, two siblings returned to the funeral home and attempted to change these instructions against the wishes of of the other two family members (one sibling now wants half the ashes, not just a small portion). This action followed a family argument from the previous evening, and appears motivated by malice. Do the instructions the family originally agreed to and discussed with the funeral director constitute a legally binding contract? Or can this sibling change the agreement after the fact?


Asked on 2/25/08, 5:56 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Christopher Steuart IT Forensics, Inc.

Re: Mother's Remains

I never render an opinion on a written contract unless I have it in front of me, and I don't know if the "agreement" was a contract. A contract has certain elements: offer, acceptance (combined are sometimes called meeting of the minds or agreement) and consideration (doesn't have to be money, could be how much "ashes" each party gets to dispose of). Oral contracts are binding, but may have more proof problems (for obvious reasons), and each party may have an honestly different understanding of what was agreed to.

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Answered on 2/28/08, 4:29 pm


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